October 1, 2014

A Better Day for Mom,

And the Start of My Trip Home

October 1, 2014 

 Just thought I would include this again.

Again, Janet and I were up early to go to the hospital.  Our plan started in the cafeteria with those wonderful cinnamon rolls.  From there we went to Mom's room.  She was better, but in a good bit of pain.  Mornings have been the hardest since she doesn't have pain pills during the night and she stays mostly in one position during the night, so she wakes up stiff, sore, and in pain. 

Arrangements were underway to transfer Mom to the Rehab place and so we visited for a while as she had her breakfast.  I said my Good-byes and then the Physical Therapist came to walk her around her end of the hall.  As I got ready to leave, Janet said she would walk to the car with me.  We ran into the pain doctor as we started down the hall and he was delighted to see Mom walking with a smile on her face.

A Nursing Instructor from Texas Women's University had brought a group of students around while Mom ate breakfast, and she had asked Mom if she would let one of the students give her an injection.  We talked to them for a while and Mom was joking with them.  As Janet and I were walking to my car, we encountered the lady again and she told us how much she admired our Mom and said she wanted to be like her when she was that age.  She said she fully expected Mom to return home and pick up where she left off on her busy life.

Janet suggested a route for me that seemed fool-proof to keep me from getting lost.  It worked.  I headed South!  There was a lot of construction along the route, but traffic moved well.  About 2 hours into the trip I got very sleepy.  Can't imagine why!  Long days and short nights.  I decided to stop in Temple and wander around a Michael's store and wake up.  While I was there, a friend texted me and asked if I was on the way home.  I told her that I was, but that I was very sleepy and would she pray for me.  She prayed for me the rest of the day and asked me to text each stop along the way.  God provided that friend's text to come at just the right time as she asked if I was on the road yet.  Then she asked me to call when I left our son's home the next morning and she would start praying.  What a friend!

I do sometimes have a cruel streak in me.  I sent this photo to my husband while on my way home.

This is our favorite place to eat Bar-B-Q and I had never been there without him.  He was glad I got some of their good food, but I am sure he wished for a plate for himself.  It is in Round Rock.  So that was my next stop after Temple.

In New Braunfels, I stopped for gas at a brand new Buc-ees Travel Stop and it is so nice.  I think they have over 100 gas pumps!  Wow!  It is huge.  Traffic there was brisk.

Traffic picked up as I neared Austin and as always, there was at least one spot in Austin where it came to a standstill.  Then on to San Antonio.  I called my son, David, and he was not home yet so we agreed to meet at his house in about an hour.  He told me I was very close to a Hobby Lobby when I asked about one, so I spent time there.  When I headed to his house, guess what?!?  I decided I might be lost.  I found the Rudy's where we often pick up Bar-B-Q when visiting him.  So after a wrong turn I called him again.  He tried to direct me unsuccessfully so we agreed to meet at Rudy's.  He was very close by and pulled in right behind me.  Amazing in a big city!  I followed him home.

After he changed clothes, we met his wife and the kids at Garden Ridge and shopped a bit before going to supper at a new Mexican Food restaurant very close to their home.

They serve the biggest burrito I ever saw.  Even though the plate in the photo below is clean, it is because most of the burrito is in the box.  There is no way that cute young lady (my daughter-in-law's niece) could have eaten it all.

It was a relaxing evening.  Following supper, Dave took the kids home and his wife and I went shopping.  I found a few things I could use and then we went home and all worked on our computers for a bit before going to sleep.  It had been a long day for me!

While I spent my day driving, my sister spent hers getting Mom moved to the new location.  It was an exhausting day for Mom, but it is the next step on the road to her recovery.